But have to say: Final Fantasy X-2 is one of my Top 5 FFs. It sounds like some of the hosts need to go back to that one. Amazing combat, superlative job system, great soundtrack and visuals, and a plot that actually does get pretty good toward the back half.

You guys were also pretty unfair toward The After Years which, from an objective standpoint, was easily superior to IV as an RPG. Come at me.

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"You know, you're pretty cool too, Arvis. You like good music, good games, and good tennis." - Divingfalcons

FFIV: good characters and GREAT music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a "just ok" plot, all stuffed into an on-rails experience with little exploration, even less difficulty/strategy/planning, and no customization or party-building at all. Everything is decided for the player and every playthrough is identical.

FFIV The After Years: good characters and great music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a MUCH more intelligent plot and handling of characters, tons of party building and potential for customization, as well as just the right amount difficulty to keep you playing with the myriad of cool characters you can use. Tons of replay potential.

Those are just the facts. I know which one I'd sooner go back to.

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"You know, you're pretty cool too, Arvis. You like good music, good games, and good tennis." - Divingfalcons

I think I like X-2 for the most part. I've played it twice, so I'm fairly happy with saying it has the best combat in the series and a really cool and unique job mechanic.

The After Years is...unnecessary, but I'm glad you liked it! FFIV falls just outside of my top 5, so maybe that's why I'm not so keen on The After Years. I totally get your criticisms of IV though, which is why, after playing nearly every other title, it slipped out of that ranking but I think it has its memorable bits. It's not aged particularly well either, compared to the other SNES contemporaries. Each to their own, and that's why listener comments are always welcome :D Thanks as always Arvis!

FFIV: good characters and GREAT music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a "just ok" plot, all stuffed into an on-rails experience with little exploration, even less difficulty/strategy/planning, and no customization or party-building at all. Everything is decided for the player and every playthrough is identical.

As much as I love IV (my favorite of the series), and want to defend it against your criticisms... I can't. You're not wrong. ...Except that the plot is better than "just ok." It's "decent".

Well said, sir.

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"Movies are better than people. You don't have to smell who you're watching." ~ Baby Cakes

FFIV: good characters and GREAT music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a "just ok" plot, all stuffed into an on-rails experience with little exploration, even less difficulty/strategy/planning, and no customization or party-building at all. Everything is decided for the player and every playthrough is identical.

As much as I love IV (my favorite of the series), and want to defend it against your criticisms... I can't. You're not wrong. ...Except that the plot is better than "just ok." It's "decent".

Well said, sir.

Heh, thanks! :)I really believe that it's the characters that make it memorable. The plot itself can delve into "downright laughable" territory at times (especially when it comes to Kain), but it honestly doesn't matter that much because of the (mostly) lovable and interesting characters.

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"You know, you're pretty cool too, Arvis. You like good music, good games, and good tennis." - Divingfalcons

Been coming to this website since i was 12 years old (25 now) and i've finally decided to create a forum account although it's looking pretty dead on here :<Recently discovered the Podcasts and i'm especially enjoying the Retro Encounter episodes! BoFIV is one of my all time favourites, so big shout out to Michael and Alana for those.Would love to hear you guys tackle either of the Baten Kaitos games!